South African legislative and traditional leader joins vegan advocacy to halt climate change. With increased intensity and frequency being noted in extreme weather events such as floods and droughts as well as rising sea levels across the globe, experts at the United Nations Climate Change Conference underway in Durban, South Africa have been raising concerns on the climate refugee issue.

Mika Andrew – Chief Land Use Officer, Department of Agriculture, Papua New Guinea (M): In the project that I’m working on, people had to be relocated, because of coastal erosion. They once had wells, water wells, that were near the beaches. Now they’ve been salinated.

Although delegates last year in Mexico agreed that adaptation plans must account and provide support for those who might become displaced, agencies like the UN Global Mitigation Group and others note that little has been done to prepare for the likelihood of large-scale migrations as people are forced by these conditions to leave their homes.

Fortunately, a solution has been found in scientific research indicating that such a crisis could be avoided through a worldwide halting of the livestock industry.Supreme Master Television reports on some of the attention being given to this remedy.

Correspondent (F): We’re here in Durban, South Africa, where members of the Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association continue activities during COP 17. Children and adults alike have been attracted to our Association’s booth, where the visitors have been especially interested to learn that adopting the scrumptious plant-based diet can save the planet.

Following the inspiring “Veganism to Save the Planet” gala dinner on December 1, His Majesty King Thobejane of Bapedi expressed his sincere wish to become vegan and asked if our Association members would assist in his initial steps by preparing a plant-based meal for him.

His Majesty King Setlamorago Godfrey Thobejane of Bapedi in Limpopo; Member of Parliament, South Africa (M): For the first time in my life, I’ve been with such a huge number of people who are very focused, who are very serious about dealing with the issues of climate change, and in particular, promoting the veganism as something that can assist in stopping climate change and save the planet for the future.

Once we start taking this and understand the significance of shifting our way of life into this veganism, I think we can save the planet. The meat that we love so much, it’s a life threat; it threatens our lives. Leaders from all categories need to start taking serious this particular campaign without any waste of time.

VOICE: We thank His Majesty King Thobejane, who is also a member of the South African Parliament, along with all concerned participants of the climate change conference. As His Majesty stated, may governments everywhere adopt cost-efficient vegan measures to save their people’s lives and the planet.

During a 2009 interview with The House Magazine in the UK, Supreme Master Ching Hai spoke with urgent concern about the climate change refugees.

Supreme Master Ching Hai : A decade ago, there were 25 million climate change refugees - with the estimate now of 1 billion by 2050. Estimate. These are people forced from their homes and communities due to rising sea levels and a host of other natural disasters, so-called natural disasters, but in fact these are all man-made.

As a result, more and more countries may have to help cope with the swell of displaced people, hoping they can - if we even can cope with it. In this dire situation when all countries already have to cope with different problems – financial crisis, food crisis - and we have to cope with this sudden surge of immeasurable force of refugees.

These situations will only worsen, not improve, until we stop the cause. This means to halt the livestock production and meat consumption. I can never emphasize this enough. If humans switch to the vegan diet, the Earth will begin cooling immediately and many of these dilemmas can even be reversed. So please, be veg and do good, to save the planet and all the beings on it.

Extra NewsPresented on December 4, 2011, three reports by international scientists on the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region find that its glaciers have receded 50,000 more square kilometers than previously estimated, with continued temperature rise that is posing threats of both flooding and drought for the 1.3 billion people living along downstream river basins.